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Monday, 26 May 2014

CSI Watford: The Launch of an Initiative

CSI Watford or the Community
Student Initiative Watford is not a new project but the formalisation of one
that +Chris Ogle and I have been working on for most of 2014. Simply put, CSI
Watford looks to give students a live project that can be embedded into their
curriculum that removes the “cloak of invisibility” of local businesses and
charities in Watford. This will be done
by building Google+ Brand pages for them. They will do this by:-

1.Visiting the charity or business

2.Interviewing, taking pictures, creating video, writing
copy

3.Use the skills being taught on their course at the
college

4.Design and create the Brand pages

5.Perform ongoing marketing, including the use of an
incredibly exciting L4GCommunityTV Youth channel

6.Measure results and success

By doing this and embedding the
Brand pages onto the various community areas that Link4Growth has created, the
businesses/charities will have their message spread to a wider audience
resulting in increased awareness of their products and services.

Why is this needed?

It is no secret that Britain’s high streets are slowly dying
and local independent businesses are closing in favour of chain stores,
discount stores and supermarkets. It is no secret (although the media would have you believe differently) that
independent stores are often lower cost, higher quality and with more personal
service, see Chris’ BuyLocal blog for proof of this. Supporting our local
businesses and buying locally also means travelling less distance and is long
term far more sustainable.

It is not only businesses that are
suffering, charities since the recession
are suffering. In Watford alone there are over 200 and I will be one of
many who struggle to name more than 10. With a focus on money and the budgets
being slashed each year, local smaller charities find themselves with
decreasing funds and the very real threat of having to give it all up. We will
notice if these unsung heroes disappear that is for sure!

Students too need this project
there are over 1 million young people
out of work, feeling pretty hopeless about their future, what this project
provides these students is a real opportunity to change the future for the
better.The increase in competition for jobs has
seen employers increase the minimum requirements due to the competition and
without work experience; it is highly unlikely that they will be hired. This
wouldn’t be a problem if the work experience was available. However, the
colleges and schools that they belong to are finding it hard to find the
placements for them and when they get there, they do not get to work on live
projects and actually end up being a burden for the employer. This all results
in a negative experience for everyone involved.

How will the project help?

1)Businesses/Charities. CSI
Watford will remove the cloak of invisibility from them and make people aware
of who they are and what they sell. Having given the students all the required
information, they can use the Google+ page to showcase who they are and what
they sell or services they provide. This means that they don’t need to spend
large amount of money on marketing as their G+ page will be the best place for
them to spread their message.

2)Students. CSI
Watford will give the students a real live project that they can work on as
part of their curriculum and will give them a chance to gain valuable skills not
taught in the classroom. Google+ is a growing platform and will become the must
use platform for community, business and charities going forward. By learning
about it in a live project, the students are future-proofing their skill set
and will be able to show potential
employers why they should be hired. Just some of the student benefits below...

A.Picking up valuable Social skills and being introduced
to the community outside the college walls

B.Integration into the local community through talking
to local business owners and charities and getting to know them (improving
their connections)

C.Using their talents on real life projects the like of
which will be in high demand going forward (future proofed skills)

D.The opportunity for the community to appreciate their
contribution, improve their self worth and self esteem

E.A very real risk of being offered voluntary or paid
for work after college through new connections

F.Inspiration to start a business or collaborate with
others

3)Colleges. CSI Watford
will allow the colleges to tap into a wealth of potential employers who have
opportunity for work experience/placements. This takes pressure off their
shoulders and means that they can show that they will be able to develop any
potential students who may looks to go to the colleges for their education.

4)The Local
Community. The initiative will raise the profile of local smaller
charities and independent businesses and enable us all to make fully-informed
decisions about where to shop and how we can support / contribute to the local
community organisations. Statistics show that if people buy local, 5x more
money stays in the local economy. This extra money in the economy will give a
welcome boost to every high street and a real chance to recover from its
current state of decline Moreover… with much more interaction between students and the community this
should lead us to greater understanding of the challenges facing the different
groups and pave the way to create a more integrated society.

Simply put,
the CSI Project has no losers; and this means it is will succeed. If everyone
benefits from it, no-one can have a reasonable reason to prevent it from being
a success.

The CSI is
not and should not be just limited to Watford and can easily be replicated to
each and every town in the country. Every town has students with the same
issues and businesses and charities that need help removing the cloak of
invisibility around them. Link4Growth has also built the platform for every
town to have its own community in Google+ and this means once created by the
students, the business pages can post into the communities and begin to reap
the rewards.

If you have
been read and been inspired by this project, share this blog and make someone
else aware of what is going on. Contact me if you want to get involved and I
will get you doing something to resolve this situation or direct you to the
person in your district who can. I will be doing the job in Watford so why not
come and join me; there is nothing to lose so what is stopping you!!